


Pancake Day

by Werecakes



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fili finds out about it and wants to try pancakes, Other, pancake day, pancakes shaped like Fili, yes it's a real holiday, you want pancakes now, yummy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2171586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werecakes/pseuds/Werecakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holiday Prompt- <br/>Fili finds out about a human holiday that he had never heard before and it comes with a delicious treat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pancake Day

It was an odd human tradition that the children always became excited for. Year after year the towns and cities of men would fill with the scent of cooked breads. All would eat thin, golden brown wafers that were as light and fluffy as air. He was travelling through Bree when he heard the chatter of children excited once more for another year’s turning. Women were gathered in clusters trading each other milk for eggs, flour for butter from their larders. 

“Do you have enough for Shrove Tuesday?” One woman asked as she walked with a friend.

Fili tilted his head as he paused to listen to them. Shrove Tuesday. He had never heard of such a thing.

“Only barely, the husband drinks milk as if it was mead! I only have enough to make a few batches of pancakes.”

Pancakes. What the devil were pancakes?

“I beg your pardon,” Fili cut in.

“Yes, Master Dwarf?” The first one asked.

“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and I’m curious to know, what is this Shrove Tuesday you speak of and what is a ‘pancake’?”

The women smiled sweetly. They were all too happy to explain that Shrove Tuesday was a time of celebration before Ash Wednesday which was the start of a time of pious living called Lent that lasted quite a bit of time. Six weeks of prayer, religious dedication as well as strict diet. They told him, in great detail, what was expected of them in their beliefs and how it would do his soul good if he did the same. He didn’t much appreciate the attempt of convergence but he respected their dedication as well as their passion.

It took some time before they finally got to the heart of the subject; “Shrove Tuesday is when we eat the last of what is in our larders that are ingredients that we cannot have during Lent. We mix them together and cook them in large batches and feast. The best way is to make pancakes, you’ve probably heard the children call it ‘pancake day’.”

“And what are pancakes?” He had to ask again.

They tittered behind their hands finding him enduring in his curiosity. Eventually they told him a recipe and how to cook it. He had never heard of anything like that before. He had dumplings, rolls, bread, and regular cakes before but never before had he tried to cook a cake in a griddle.

With a kind word of thanks he went on his way. Humans were ever curious things, doing things that he would never understand. He paused looking down the street where the open market sat. He rolled the idea around in his head before he gave a shrug and a sigh. He knew if Thorin ever found out he was trying something distinctly related to a human religious holiday then he would have his hide tanned then filleted. But what Thorin didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, right? Right, after all, it was just a bit of food.

He went and gathered up enough ingredients to make a batch of pancakes. He carried it with him out of Bree and into the long journey home to Thorin’s Halls. When he stopped for the night he ventured to mix the ingredients just as the women had told him, then poured the lumpy, liquid like batter into a hot skillet. The sizzle was good, but when he flipped it, he found it burnt. He cooled his pan a bit for the second one and was pleased to find that it cooked golden brown easily, the lumps evened out and it puffed up. He pulled it out of the skillet, juggling it around. He tore off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, he blew out around it, willing it to cool down. When it wasn’t so hot he could finally taste the flavor, light, neutral. He looked down at the pancake still in hand with surprised eyes. This could go with anything! Why in the world would humans only have it on one day of the year?! When he got home he would have to make some for the family, after much careful explanation to Thorin that there would be no Lent to follow.


End file.
